The Workplace Relations Commission found Jane Burton was unfairly dismissed by Knights of Old Group and awarded her €7,000 compensation. Adjudication Officer Kevin Baneham's decision was dated 18 January 2023.
The company said pandemic-related falls in business required redundancies and placed Burton in a pool of one because she was the only Ireland-based business development employee. Burton challenged that selection and said a manager had used her LinkedIn account while she was on lay-off.
The adjudicator found that business had recovered by the time Burton was dismissed and that she should have been pooled with others doing business development. He said the termination lacked the impersonality and change needed to constitute redundancy. The use of Burton's LinkedIn account without her knowledge or consent was described as irregular and indicated that the company wanted to maintain business development in Ireland.
The WRC said Burton had tried to find other work and did not contribute to her dismissal. It awarded €7,000 as just and equitable compensation for financial loss. A redundancy lump sum and statutory notice pay had already been paid; the notice pay was excluded from the loss calculation.